Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers were a soul band from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Briefly signed to Motown Records in the late 1960s, they had one top 30 hit single, "Does Your Mama Know About Me". As a producer and solo artist, Bobby Taylor contributed to several other soul recordings, both inside and outside of Motown. Taylor is most notable for discovering and mentoring The Jackson 5. Tommy Chong was a member of Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers before he became famous as a comedian. Bobby Taylor, (Washington, DC, February 18, 1934 - 22 July 2017) was raised in Washington. As a young man, he moved to New York City and sang in doo-wop groups with singers who later joined successful acts such as Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers and Little Anthony & the Imperials. In 1958 he began his music career as a member of The Four Pharaohs, who released a few locally-selling recordings in the Columbus, Ohio area. In the early 1960s, Taylor met the Calgary group The Shades, made up of vocalist Tommie Melton, guitarist Tommy Chong, bassist Wes Henderson, pianist Bernie Sneed, drummer Floyd Sneed (later the drummer for Three Dog Night) and Dick Bird. The word Shades in the group's name referenced the fact that the band was interracial. Chong (later famous as one-half of comedy duo Cheech and Chong) was Chinese and Scottish-Irish. The other members were black Canadian, white Canadian, and aboriginal. Taylor was of African-American, Puerto Rican, and Native American heritage. By the time Taylor joined the group as lead vocalist and producer a couple of years later, they had moved to Vancouver, changed their name to "Little Daddy & The Bachelors", and recorded a single, "Too Much Monkey Business" / "Junior's Jerk". Taylor and Chong opened a Vancouver nightclub in 1963 called the Blues Palace, which was formerly a movie theatre. They brought in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, which had never been to Vancouver before. Although Little Daddy & The Bachelors built up a small following, things soured when they went with Chong's suggestion and had themselves billed as "Four Niggers and a Chink". (or, bowing to pressure, "Four N's and a C") before taking on the moniker Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers. Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers join Motown In 1965, Supremes members Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard heard the band — whose repertoire consisted primarily of Motown covers — at the Elegant Parlor in Vancouver, and alerted Motown CEO Berry Gordy, Jr.. Gordy brought the Vancouvers to Motown Records in Detroit, Michigan, and signed them to his Gordy Records imprint. By this time the evolving lineup consisted of Taylor, Henderson and Chong along with guitarist Eddie Patterson, organist Robbie King, and drummer Ted Lewis (aka Duris Maxwell), the latter three having come as a package when the original Vancouvers merged with another local group, the Good Shepherds. Claims have been made that future star guitarist Jimi Hendrix played with them in those early days, but Chong has been quoted as saying that any such appearance is a product of Taylor's "imagination." Nevertheless, it seems likely that Hendrix, as a regular visitor to and sometime resident of Vancouver in the early '60s, would have performed with earlier groups featuring some of future Vancouvers. Hendrix and Taylor certainly knew each other from their early days in the Seattle-Tacoma area, and Hendrix later jammed onstage with the Vancouvers in Europe. The group recorded its debut album, an eponymous release, and their debut single, the Tommy Chong co-composition "Does Your Mama Know About Me," peaked at number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100. For a July, 1968 engagement at Chicago's Regal Theater, Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers had a local-area family band, The Jackson 5, as their opening act. Impressed with the children, Taylor personally brought them to Detroit and the Motown offices, arranging an audition for them with Motown executive Suzanne de Passe. de Passe and Berry Gordy were impressed with the Jacksons, and the group was signed to the label within a year. They released two further singles, "I Am Your Man," (US #85, US R&B #40) produced by Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, and the Smokey Robinson-written and produced "Malinda" (US #48, US R&B #16). The Vancouvers ended up performing in support of Motown artist Chris Clark. Tommy Chong and Wes Henderson were fired by Clark and Motown producer Johnny Bristol for missing a gig to apply for Green cards. The group broke up shortly afterwards, when Chong attempted to have the Vancouvers' contract halved, so that he, Taylor, and Henderson would constitute the group, while Robbie King, Eddie Patterson, and Ted Lewis would simply be regarded as sidemen and session artists. Taylor auditioned for the then-vacant lead singer position in The Temptations (following David Ruffin's expulsion from the group), but was turned down. After the Jackson 5 signed to Motown in March 1969, Taylor became the group's first producer. He supervised the bulk of their first album, Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5, recording the Jacksons on a number of soul covers, including The Miracles' "Who's Lovin' You".[8][1] Berry Gordy would later move the group to California and take personal control of their sound. Although Taylor would briefly join the Jacksons in California, he did not receive credit for working on the group's early singles such as "I Want You Back" and "ABC" alongside Gordy's team known as The Corporation™ . As a solo artist, Taylor was shifted to Motown's V.I.P. label and continued as a solo artist. Although his "Oh, I've Been Blessed" later attained a cult status, Taylor's solo singles failed to sell well. By 1971, Taylor had departed Motown because of a financial dispute, recording sporadically into the mid-1970s. Taylor later successfully sued Motown for a substantial amount of money. Moving to the United Kingdom, Taylor started an offshoot group, Bobby Taylor & the New Vancouvers, and recorded an album for Ian Levine's Motorcity Records. His later musical efforts were tempered by bouts with throat cancer, which he had treated by various holistic doctors. As of 2014, Bobby resided in Hong Kong. On Saturday, 22nd of July 2017 Bobby died in Hong Kong Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers discography All items issued on Gordy Records unless otherwise noted. Singles 1968: "Does Your Mama Know About Me" (US #29, US R&B #5) 1968: "I Am Your Man" (US #85, US R&B 40) 1968: "Malinda" (US #48, US R&B #16) Album 1968: Bobby Taylor & The Vancouvers 1990: Find My Way Back (Motorcity Records) Bobby Taylor solo discography 1969: "Oh, I've Been Bless'd" (V.I.P. Records) 1969: "Blackmail" (V.I.P. Records, promo-only) 1969: "My Girl Has Gone" (Gordy Records) 1971: "Hey Lordy" (Mowest Records) 1972: "There Are Roses Somewhere In The World" (Sunflower Records) 1973: "I Can't Quit Your Love" (Tommy Zs7 Records) 1973: "Why Play Games" (Playboy Records) (US R&B #83) 1973: "I Can't Quit Your Love" (Philadelphia International, by "BT & TB"—Bobby Taylor and Thom Bell). Albums 1969: Taylor-Made Soul (Gordy Records) 2006: Motown Anthology (Hip-O/Select) Read more on Last.fm. 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